The Dove from the year 1949 is a classical example of the impact of politics on art. While Picasso had for a very long time already moved from concrete art to abstract and deconstructivist art, the political pressures of the war and his standing against the France regime made Picasso turn back to a kind of realism. After he had designed his iconic Guernica to express his anti-war feelings, Picasso was asked to create symbols of peace. And, again, he came up with a simple, yet, clear message of the biblical bird who brings hope to the people waiting in the ark, not knowing about the upcoming secure land, but hoping almost in despair. The Dove of Peace was then selected as the emblem for the First International Peace Conference in Paris in the year 1949. At the same time it was Picasso's hommage to his French colleague, but also competitor and sometimes rival Henri Matisse who, at the same time, was one of his great challenging friends.

How personal Picasso took his fight for peace is expressed in the name of his fourth child who he named after the Dove of Peace, having giving her the Spanish name of Paloma.

If you want to secure more of these delicate designs, we also have other motives of Picasso on offer.